Genuine Act
by Ash04123
Summary: Alfred and his gang of friends love their theater class. It's the highlight of their days and it brings them all together. However, once a new student enters the scenario and adds a bit too much drama to the group, tension rises. [Main Pairing: RusAme] DISCLAIMER: I do not own Hetalia.
1. Chapter 1

**Hey guys! So if you know me, you're probably wondering already if I'm abandoning my other on-going fanfic. . . Well I'm not. So don't worry!**

**I really love RusAme though, so I thought I'd finally get on writing a fanfic for it! **

**I also wanted to write a fanfic that wasn't depressing and didn't make people cry for once, so here I am!**

******I'm going to leave the rating at M because of future sexual activity, and such.**

**Oh and yes, this is with their human selves. **

**Here's a quick list of the pairings that will most likely be in here: **

**RusAme [Main pairing], FrUK, GerIta, Spamano. **

**And sprinkles of other minor pairings. Enjoy!**

* * *

**Genuine Act  
**

_"I don't want you to go home." A small voice whispered, wrapping his tiny hand around his friend's._

_"I know, I don't want to go! I'll be back one day, promise you'll wait for me?" The other responded, squeezing the hand that wrapped around his._

_"Forever."_

* * *

_I belong to a community of butterflies,_

_Whose wings have been tied behind our backs._

_Let me go, let me fly,_

_Let me out of this hell._

Alfred huffed quietly and shook his head. What a terrible piece of work! He thought his writing was improving, but he always ended up sounding depressed. Did he really feel trapped? How could he? Maybe it was school.

He glanced up from his paper and gazed at the teacher. Which to much of his misfortune, was also his father. Dad, or Mr. Kirkland as he preferred during class, had begun teaching at his school at the beginning of the semester. At first Alfred didn't take him seriously, but once he sat down and saw his father in front of the classroom, reality slapped him a few times.

It wasn't such a big deal though, in actuality no one knew they were related. Well besides his brother Matthew and anyone who was close friends with him. His father was a pretty cool guy, he didn't treat Alfred like his kid during class. Once the bell rang they were teacher and student, and nothing more. Which was just great for Alfred, it would have been horrifying having the other kids know about this.

He gazed past his father and looked at the clock on the wall. It was five minutes until class ended, which meant his next destination was the auditorium. That was the class he anticipated every single day. It was there that all his friends got together and had fun.

Now a theater class might sound a bit cheesy, especially for the manly hero Alfred liked to think he was, but it was fun! He admits he thought it was going to be lame when he first noticed the class on his schedule, but boy was he wrong. The first day of it he was hooked, if that even sounded appropriate.

His thoughts were interrupted when the bell rang, sending a stampede of children out the front door.

"Watch it! Bloody children..." He looked over at his father who was shaking his head. His father was the kind of man who expected way too much from his generation. They were just kids after all!

"Hey dad-"

"Mr. Kirkland, Alfred."

"Mr. Kirkland, I'll see you later!" Alfred offered a small smile and packed up his things, which he was to distracted to do earlier, before standing up.

"Don't get into any trouble now. Oh, and we're having meatloaf for dinner." He added, returning the smile. Alfred did a little jump at that fact before running out the door. He had enough time with his father at home.

He ran past the other students in the hallway, none of which looked too happy. Sure it was school, but did they have to be so dull? Alfred rolled his eyes and jumped down a flight of stairs. He was too excited to calm down! He quickly opened the door to the auditorium before jogging inside, waving his arms around.

"The hero has arrived!" He claimed proudly, running down the aisles of chairs.

"You were only a hero once, sit your ass down!" Another student called out, rolling his eyes.

"Oh chill, Lovino, it's time to act and shit!" Alfred chuckled, patting the Italian boy's back. He had brown hair and an odd curl sticking out, much like his brother-

"Ve!~ Alfred you're here!" Said brother called out, bouncing over.

"Hey Feliciano, you ready to get things going?"

"Oh yes, as soon as Ludwig arrives we can begin!" Feliciano grinned, swaying back and forth on his feet.

"Well while you go wait for your boyfriend, I'm going to get things ready," Alfred chimed, climbing onto the stage and not bothering to use the set of stairs.

Feliciano gasped and quickly covered his face, trying to hide the shade of pink his cheeks were showing. The other students began walking in and setting down their things. Meanwhile Alfred was pulling a rope, opening the curtains on stage.

"Alright class, are we all here?" said a woman's voice, with a pretty thick accent. All the students turned to her as she skipped down another aisle of chairs, twirling for good measure. Behind her was a man in a blue overcoat, sighing.

"Hey Ms. He-He-" Alfred stuttered, never able to actually say her last name.

"I told you to call me Elizabeta, Alfred!" She sang, hopping onto stage and running to the center.

"Right, hey Elizabeta and Roderich!" He grinned, letting go of the rope and jogging over to her.

"You may still call me Mr. Edelstein, Mr. Jones," Roderich huffed, taking his spot next to Elizabeta.

"That's too hard to say dude!" Alfred whined. His last name wasn't officially Jones, but damn he sure loved that name. He asked his teachers to call him that instead of Mr. Kirkland. Then again, why call him Mister anything? He quite liked his regular name!

Alfred hopped down the stage to join the other students in their seats, papers already in hand.  
"Alright my lovely butterflies, are you all ready to start?" Elizabeta twirled and clapped her hands. The auditorium erupted into a cheer as the teenagers all stood up.

"Then let's begin!"


	2. Chapter 2

**So sorry for the late updates on everything! School is pulling out the big exams and stuff, and well yeah. Summer vacation is soon, so I'll be writing more than. For now, enjoy!**

**Remember, reviews are _loved_ and _appreciated_!**

* * *

**Genuine Act**

Alfred groaned to himself, he hated playing the minor parts in a scene. Sure, each person in every scene was extremely important in their own way, but he wanted to be the main protagonist in each of them! That was the _most_ important character after all.

"Ah, here comes my dear now!" A silver, almost white, haired boy said while gesturing to Alfred.

Alfred _really_ hated this.

"Honey, you're home so early!" Alfred ran up to the boy, trying to keep a scowl off his face. However as soon as the young man's red eyes glanced at him, his mouth twitched until he burst into laughter.

"Mein Gott! Alfred, I can't take you seriously! I'm sorry!"

"Oh shut up, Gil!" Alfred lightly shoved his friend, huffing quietly. "I am a sexy ass lady! Wait, that came out wrong..."

"Damn right you are! How about we take this to the bedroom, _my lady?_" Gilbert leaned in closer, flashing his ruby eyes at the blond and smirked.

"How about, not even in your dreams dude?" Alfred rolled his eyes and sighed. Gilbert was so immature! Sure it made the blond laugh at times, but not when he fooled around about his sexuality. Alfred was one hundred percent straight, and that was a fact!

"Ai, stop fooling around amigos!" Another boy pepped in, smiling sweetly. He had vibrant green eyes and light brown hair. "I thought Alfred was a lovely mujer!"

"Why thank you, Ton-Wait a minute!" The crowd of teenagers surrounding Alfred burst out into laughter. He couldn't help the shade of pink that began to creep up onto his cheeks. How dare they make fun of him! He was a manly man!

"Hey," a sudden voice interrupted. All heads turned to the speaker, she had blonde hair down to her shoulders and bright green eyes. It was Alfred's friend Lili. "I heard there are a few new students transferring to our school tomorrow!"

"I heard about that too," the taller male next to her spoke. It was Lili's older brother Vash. Alfred thought they looked pretty darn similar when they were standing next to each other. He had identical hair and eyes.

"Why would new students be transferring over in the middle of the semester? I thought transfers weren't allowed anymore!" A peppy Italian popped in. "Not that I'm calling you guys liars of c-course!" He quickly added, suddenly feeling guilty.

"Maybe they did something really bad!" Gilbert jumped in, grinning. "Maybe they killed a man!"

"Don't be stupid dude! If they did, they'd like totally be in jail!" Alfred rolled his eyes at the German, even though he did find the thought exciting. He _was_ the hero and all, even if everyone thought it was just part of the act. Having bad guys to watch over would be so cool!

"It's just what I heard though," Lili frowned and glanced down at the floor. However she was soon smiling again when a gentle hand placed on her shoulder from her brother.

"Well I guess we'll just have to wait and find-" Alfred was quickly cut short.

"Okay class! The bell is about to ring, get ready! I hope you all have a lovely day!" Elizabeta suddenly called out, smiling sweetly at all her students. Roderich was behind her, cleaning his hands with a small white handkerchief. That man was so clean, it was going to be the death of him, or so Alfred thought.

After a few 'goodbyes' and 'see ya later's Alfred walked over to a boy identical to himself. The teenager was in the corner sitting down with a white polar bear toy in his lap.

"Hey Mattie!" Alfred called out to his brother, grinning and offering his hand out to help the boy up. The brother looked up at the peppy blond and smiled.

"Hey Alfred," he whispered, or at least it sounded like a whisper to Alfred. His brother was always so low. He wished his brother would speak up more often, sometimes he felt like he needed a hearing aid.

"Hey how was your practice scene today?" The American helped his brother to his feet as the other's hand placed in his.

"It went well, Kiku and Heracles are really comfortable to be around. I wish we were in the same group more often-"

"Mattie, you know you need to make more friends, right?" Alfred cut in and sighed. He really didn't like how isolated his brother was from most people. It was strange, Matthew was actually the captain of the hockey team. People seemed to know him when he was on the ice, but when he was off of it he seemed to disappear. Alfred hated it. Sometimes people just forgot he existed and it made Alfred sick.

"I know..." Matthew looked down at his bear, fiddling with one of it's ears. Alfred sighed and shook his head, deciding to drop the topic. Instead he wrapped an arm around his brother's shoulder and led them off the stage to grab their things. After they gathered their belongings they exited as soon as the bell rang. Theater was their last class of the day, so they headed straight home as they left the school building.

The rest of Alfred's day was uneventful and he thought it couldn't have gone by any slower. He fell asleep that night fairly quickly, boredom having filled him completely. _Really, they should create a device that would just magically clear boredom, _Alfred thought. He collapsed quickly onto his bed, pulled his Superman blanket up to his chin, and closed his eyes. He was out in no more than three minutes. Except this night was different, something happened that usually didn't. He dreamed.

* * *

Alfred was running, or at least that's what it seemed like. He didn't feel his feet touch the ground, but he was moving forward. He felt free, he felt like a bird. He didn't know why, but he really wanted to fly. He was surrounded by sunflowers as he ran down a path of green grass. He wasn't sure why he was running, but it felt like he had to do something very important.

The wind brushed by his face, flinging his hair in a wild dance. He thought he'd feel cold with the wind, but instead he felt warm. It was odd, but he didn't mind. He had a huge smile plastered on his face, he noticed. Wherever he was going, he didn't question it. No one could be that happy to be running to any sort of danger.

After a few minutes of what seemed like just running, Alfred stopped. He gazed past the green opening before spotting a figure in the distance. He wasn't sure who it was, but he looked like a small boy. He took off running again, this time towards the person. He didn't feel tired at all! He could keep running forever, it seemed.

He stood a few feet away from the figure, glancing over his features carefully. He was young, around seven. He had pale skin, almost like snow, and a very light pink scarf wrapped around his neck. He had on a long beige coat, which was odd because it felt warm to Alfred. His hair was was an ash blond color. He didn't think he ever saw this boy before, yet he suddenly felt a surge of happiness fill his body.

"Vanya!" He yelled, without even noticing. Was that his name? How did he know the boy's name though? The young boy's eyes flickered, looking up with an amethyst color in them. His mouth quickly grinned, offering a hand out.

"Fredka, you kept me waiting." The boy responded, but it sounded hazy.

"It's been too long."

* * *

Alfred's eyes shot open, inhaling a deep clump of air.

"Alfred! Bloody hell, are you okay? It's time to get ready for school." Alfred gazed up a the familiar voice, emerald eyes piercing through his own.

"Oh, hey dad! Yeah, sorry about that! I just had this weird dream," Alfred trailed off. He didn't have time to explain the dream to his father, even if he did offer to hear. He quickly stood and nodded to his dad, signaling that we was all right. After the Englishman left the room, Alfred dragged himself out his bedroom door.

His feet were bare, he liked it that way. He felt good when they hit the cold floor with each step. Arthur was always nagging to him how it wasn't healthy, not with the floors they had. Something about feet problems, but Alfred didn't listen. It made him feel good. He raised his hand to his mouth to yawn, closing his eyes in the process. He was still very tired.

He opened his eyes after a moment, having walked down the narrow hallway to the bathroom. He reached his arm out and gripped the doorknob, only to find that it was closed. He grunted and shook his head, "Mattie? Mattie are you in there?"

A quick yelp from behind the door confirmed his thoughts. "Sorry Al! I'll be right out!"

It took only a couple of seconds for the door to shoot open, Alfred's Canadian twin standing there with a white towel wrapped around his waist. Alfred was American while his brother was Canadian. It was a funny story actua-

"I'll be waiting outside, okay?" Mattie spoke, interrupting his thoughts. Alfred hummed and nodded, his brother running past him so fast he probably didn't even see. The American stepped into the bathroom and closed the door, quickly relinquishing himself of clothing. He sighed happily when his final garment slipped off to the floor, his American flag boxers of course. He liked to think of himself as a patriotic young man.

He stepped into the shower and turned both the hot and cold water on. He shuddered as the cold water hit him first before it substantially warmed up. He smiled and reached out for the soap on the dish. He began scrubbing at his arms, legs, chest, and private areas. As he was thinking before...

While he was American, Matthew was Canadian. Reason for this is they both had different fathers, and different birth places. Alfred's father is Arthur, who is English. However, Alfred's mother made an unexpected delivery in America while on a visit from England. He learned his mother died during child birth, and eventually finding no reason to return back to England, Arthur stayed in the United States until he too was able to become a citizen. He wanted to start knew, he'd tell Alfred, so what better place than the land of the free?

On the other hand, Matthew's father is a man named Francis. He is French, and looks a lot like his son. Francis had moved to Canada around a year before Matthew was born with his wife. However, after the blond was born, his mother left. She never said goodbye, Francis would tell Matthew and Alfred at times. His face would be filled with such grief, as if he felt like it was his fault.

Basically in the end, Francis and Arthur found each other, thought the kids were great together, the Frenchman moved in with the Englishman in America, and got married as soon as they were able to. Which took awhile, considering they didn't live in a place previously where gay marriage was legal. Alfred had no conflict with the fact he had two fathers, nor did Matthew. _Someone should be able to love whoever they want, _Alfred thought. Of course, he himself is straight.

Once again his thoughts were ended when a tapping sound filled the bathroom.

"Alfred, are you still in there _mon cher_?" A thick French accented man asked from the other side of the door. "You're going to be late!"

Alfred reached over and shut off the water, nodding even though his father couldn't see. "Coming!"

He hopped out of the tub and wrapped a towel over his waist, quickly running out of the bathroom to his room. He was in such a rush he didn't notice the group of boys waiting for him. He froze when he saw the group, eyes growing wide.

"What are you guys doing here?" Alfred frowned, crossing his arms over his chest.

"Are you not happy to see the awesome me, Alfred?" Gilbert grinned as he was sitting back on Alfred's bed. He glanced Alfred over and winked. "What a nice surprise, maybe you did know we were coming!" He whistled at Alfred, laughing in his strange way.

"Shut up, Gil! Seriously dude, what's with all this?" Alfred barked, clenching his fists. He had anger problems. He wasn't afraid to admit it. He had a patience tank of zero.

"We thought it'd be nice if we all walked to school!" An Italian boy peeked his head out from under Alfred's bed. How long had Feliciano been hiding?

"Bro! My private stuff is under there! Get out!" Alfred whined, crouching down to grip Feliciano's hand and pulled him out.

"Got porn under there?" Antonio hopped in, grinning.

"No way, he probably has his secret photos of the awesome me under there!" Gilbert joined in.

"Alfred, your crotch is in my face! It's nice and all, but could you back away?" Feliciano pouted, looking up Alfred's towel as he crouched.

Oh, now Alfred was seething with anger. He abruptly stood up and extended an arm out, pointing to the door. "Get out." He nearly snarled, the boy's faces slightly growing concerned for their own well being. The three nodded before shuffling out the door, Feliciano even closed it behind him.

"Do you think he'll kill us?" Feliciano could be heard from beyond the door, making Alfred roll his eyes.

Man were his friends annoying.

* * *

_mon cher_- My dear

_Mujer_- Woman


	3. Chapter 3

**Won't be updating for a bit, I don't think. It's testing time which might last about 2-3 weeks. I'll try and update, but... Well I might not be able to, sorry!**

**Anyway, enjoy! Reviews are loved!~**

**Fixed ending: 6/2/13**

* * *

Alfred was nearly late for school that day, what with his friends dragging him down of course. There was no bigger distraction than them. Feliciano kept begging him not to kill them, Gilbert continued to flirt with the blond, and Antonio was busy explaining his idea about a tomato car. That Spaniard had a serious addiction to tomatoes. Unless it was processed into ketchup, Alfred was not interested.

When the crew finally hopped into school the first bell had rung, signaling that they had about two minutes to get to class on time. Once inside, they ripped apart from one another and headed their separate ways. Alfred was slightly grateful for that, he wasn't in the best of moods this morning. His dream, which he still couldn't remember, bothered him. It filled him with some sad sensation. He wasn't sure why though!

His first class was Math, a subject he always felt confused in. It was weird how he loved Science class, but when he tried math it was like a foreign language! Normally he would sit there and restrain himself from jumping up and screaming, 'How will this ever help me in life?!' but today was different. Instead of the boring lesson and tired children, the class was filled with whispers. Alfred watched from his seat at the back of the class (where he could doodle and get away with it) as his classmates passed notes and made silent gestures.

Finally he couldn't take it and decided to ask someone. He turned his head to look to his left, spotting his best friend Kiku. Kiku had objected being in the back with him, however Alfred could be quite the persuasive person. He checked to see if the teacher was looking before ripping off a small piece of paper from his classwork. He rolled it up into a tiny ball before flinging it at his Japanese friend. Dark eyes quickly glanced up as the sphere bounced off his black hair.

"Psst, Kiku, what's everyone talking about?" The blond held his classwork up and covered his mouth, trying to hide his whispers. Kiku stared at him for a moment, deciding whether to answer him or get mad that he was disrupting his learning. He sighed before choosing just to respond. It was Alfred after all.

"They are talking about the new students in school today," he responded, letting his eyes fall back onto his work as the teacher told them to practice the new lesson.

Right! How could Alfred forget? There were new students in school today! Where were they from? _I'll be their first friend, _ Alfred thought, _just like a true hero!_ He grinned happily but the smile didn't last.

"Alfred, would you come up and do number one for the class aru?" His teacher has his arms crossed over his chest, tapping his foot on the ground. Alfred felt like a deer caught in the headlights. Mr. Wang, whose name Alfred thought was hilarious, could be so cruel sometimes.

After Math class ended with Alfred embarrassing himself by sputtering nonsense about today's lesson, he headed off to History class. He took his seat up front because this was actually a class he liked. What could be better than learning about how the United States of America kicked ass during almost every war? Or so he thought.

"Alright students, before we begin I'd like to introduce our new companion. Come in!" Their teacher Romulus announced, gesturing to the door. All the students, including Alfred, turned their head as the new teenager entered.

He immediately caught Alfred's attention. He was absolutely gorgeous, in a way Alfred couldn't understand. He had ash blond hair and piercing amethyst eyes that seemed to stare right back at the American. The boy had a strange scarf wrapped around his neck, his mouth slightly hidden behind it. He wore a beige sweater with plain black pants as well. He looked slightly tense, but also completely fine at the same time. It took a few moments before Alfred realized they were actually gazing at each other.

Alfred snapped his aquatic eyes away and looked back at the front board. He could still feel the eyes fixated on him.

"What is your name, young man?" The brown haired history teacher grinned, almost seeming to flex. Everyone knew how Romulus like to impress others. He adored the attention others gave him, he was almost like a child himself. He didn't even want anyone to call him by his last name, just Romulus.

"My name is Ivan," the boy responded with a thick accent. Although Alfred refused to look at him, he thought the accent was completely sexy. He'd never admit that though. It was normal to think a man's voice could be hot, right? He wouldn't deny it, either. Yes the boy was beyond handsome, but Alfred wasn't attracted to him. _Not one bit_, Alfred stressed in his head.

"Ivan, lovely! Where would you like to sit?" Romulus proceeded to sit back in his chair at his desk. Ivan didn't respond. He simply began walking down the rows, looking from side to side. Alfred couldn't help but to begin chanting in his mind.

_Don't sit next to me, _he bit his lower lip. _Go away, don't sit next to me. Please. Please I can't deal with you. Don't sit next to me. I don't want to be your partner. Don't sit next-_

"May I sit here?"

_Fuck my life. _ As Romulus nodded, Ivan took a seat next to Alfred. _Fuck. Fuck. Fuck._ The new boy set his book-bag down and let out a quiet sigh as he crossed his hands over his desk. _Do. Not. Look. _

Alfred was sure his lip must have been bleeding at that point by how hard he was biting it. He didn't want to look, he really didn't, but he really did. Alfred risked it and slightly turned his head to look at the young man.

Once again purple eyes fixed on his.

This was going to be a long day.

* * *

Luckily for Alfred History eventually came to an end. The class was a disaster. The American couldn't keep his eyes off the new kid and it seemed to be vice-versa. He wasn't sure what his need was to keep looking! When the bell finally rang he was the first one to run out of the classroom. He was grateful to find out he didn't have the next few classes with the boy.

When he entered English class he smiled to himself, glad the lighter blond wasn't in this class either. He couldn't help but notice that his happiness came with a hint of disappointment. He ignored that though. That wasn't important.

He took his seat in the middle of the classroom and stared ahead at his father. Arthur went on to review foreshadowing and other literary elements. Alfred was a star pupil in this class, and not just because his dad was the teacher. He just found writing and reading very easy. Of course he preferred creative writing, but he knew constructive writing was a big thing as well.

Before he knew it the bell had rung. It was go time. He made sure to pack all his things quickly this time, waving to his father and running out the door.

"No running in the bloody hallways!" He faintly heard his father call out, but of course he didn't listen. He was a hero, he knew what he was doing! He took a sudden right turn and hopped onto a stair railing and slid down it, nearly knocking a few students down along the way. He jumped off when he reached the bottom and resumed running.

After a few more screams from a few teachers he threw open the auditorium doors. As he gladly jogged down the aisle of chairs, he was greeted by pure despair. _He _was there, setting down his bag and glancing around. He seemed alone, which Alfred thought was strange. Usually people were all over the new kid, wanting to know everything about them.

He sighed heavily, hoping this guy didn't disrupt his favorite class. Alfred brightened up when he noticed his theater teachers making their way into the auditorium. "Welcome my beautiful butterflies to Theater class!" Elizabeta sang, twirling around. "I hear we have a new student!"

She stopped twirling a few feet away from the young man who Alfred tried to keep away from. As the two talked Alfred suddenly noticed how tall Ivan seemed to be. He was a giant! Which was saying something because Alfred himself was a pretty tall teenager!

"Well children, this is Ivan! He is a new caterpillar to our butterfly group!" Elizabeta chimed, giggling as well. "Let's play a game to break the ice, shall we?"

"Let's do improv!" Gilbert shouted, "Alfred can be my wife!" Oh, he was going to get punched later.

"Let's do a practice scene!" Feliciano jumped in, his bright eyes filled with happiness.

"How about we play Wink Murder?" Alfred suggested, knowing full well how the class would react.

"Yeah!" The whole class shouted out and quickly agreed. Alfred smiled to himself, he knew exactly what his companions wanted. After all he was a he-

"Wink Murder it is! Everyone sit in a circle on stage and Roderich and I shall pick a single killer!" Elizabeta happily bounced up and down.

"How do we play?" All heads turned to the nearly silent voice in surprise. Alfred noticed the speaker by his violet eyes.

"Dude, you don't know how to play Wink Murder?" Alfred jogged on over, forgetting his day of trying to avoid the new kid. He wasn't sure why he wanted to, but it just had to be _him_ who taught him how to play. "It's really easy, okay? We all sit in a circle and close our eyes. The teacher, or teachers in this case walk around and tap the head of one of the kids. Whoever gets their head tapped is the murderer! When the teacher announces, 'Everyone open their eyes, there is a killer in the room' we do so! Then we all scramble about and begin looking at each other. If you get winked at by the killer, you have to keep quiet and act normal. After about ten seconds you have to act out a dramatic death!

"You can't say anything about the killer though! If someone who is still 'alive' thinks they know who the killer is, they have to tell the teacher. Once they make an accusation the rest of the class has to agree with them, or else it won't count. If they're correct, the killer is revealed and the game is over. If they are incorrect, the game goes on. Understand?" Alfred took in a deep breath after explaining.

Purple eyes stared at him for a moment before nodding. "Spasibo."

"Spassa-what?" Alfred blinked.

"It means thank you in Russian," Ivan chuckled quietly, walking away and onto stage. Alfred gazed at him as he walked away. _So that sexy accent was Russian, huh?_

Soon he too was on stage, taking a seat between Feliciano and Lili.

"Alright, everyone close your eyes!" Elizabeta hopped onto stage. Everyone in the class closed their eyes. No one would cheat. No one would ruin everyone's fun.

Then it began, two pairs of feet purposely stomping on the ground to create noise opposite each other. Roderich and Elizabeta paced around the circle of children, deciding who would be the best killer.

About a minute passed before the teacher said in a serious tone, "Everyone open your eyes. There is a killer in the room."

Everyone's eyes opened and they all stood up. Alfred was shaking in excitement and slight disappointment. He wasn't chosen to be the killer, he never was. He'd probably start a winking spree anyway and get caught right away. Besides, he liked being the hero and accusing other people. Heroes weren't killers themselves!

The mixture of about twenty five children walked around on stage. Some in a circle, some in zig-zags, and some who took no particular pattern whatsoever. It was about two minutes into the game that a sudden scream was heard.

"Oh cruel world! My tomato blood is everywhere!" Antonio called out, collapsing to his knees. "Lovino, my love, avenge me!" And he was down.

Meanwhile Lovino was as red as a tomato himself. "I-Idiota!"

The game continued, and soon a few more kids were down. Alfred hadn't seen anyone wink his way or at anyone else yet. He did smile when he saw that Lovino had been winked at apparently, and decided to 'die' right next to Toni. He was such a bad liar when he claimed he didn't like the Spaniard.

"Oh maple!" Alfred's eyes shot around to see his brother with an arm over his forehead, falling to the ground. "Alfred, take care of the pancakes for me." Alfred burst out laughing at his brother's 'death', as weird as that sounded. Matthew was shy to other people, but when it came to his brother he could be quite the goof.

Around fifteen people had 'died' by now, and Alfred was growing anxious. He glanced around the room and noticed who was remaining. Gilbert, Heracles the Greek guy, a few other kids, and ...Ivan.

Wait, when had-? Alfred paused in his tracks to look at the 'deaths' along the floor. He grinned once again, noticing how Feliciano decided to collapse into Ludwig's arms. Ludwig was a blushing mess which made it obvious he was just acting dead. He looked hilarious trying to remain still with the Italian boy's head resting against his chest.

When Alfred turned around again he was shocked. He was winked at. He blinked a few times before shaking his head and continuing to walk. _He _was the killer. It was Ivan.

He counted to ten in his head before shooting his arms up in the air. "Your hero has failed! This villain is stronger than no other! Goodbye my people! Farewell! I knew thee all we-"

"Just die!" The class called out and Alfred huffed.

He finally fell to the floor near Antonio and Lovino before peeking out with one eye to watch the game. He couldn't help but notice the confused look on Gilbert's face as the remaining children walked around. It wasn't like this was the first time that Alfred had died in the game, so why did he looked so baffled?

A few deaths later it made sense why.

"Comrades, this is it for me," a Russian voice spat out, falling to his knees as well. He collapsed _right_ behind Alfred. Wait, what? He was the one that winked at the blond though! He was the murderer!

"I have an accusation!" Heracles suddenly called out, looking a bit panicked as if the game was really happening and he was about to die. There were four kids left. "I think it's Gilbert!' He pointed at the albino.

Gilbert put his arms up in defense, smirking slightly. Oh yeah, that face was just screaming guilty. The two other kids were quick to agree with the Greek teenager. Elizabeta smiled as Gilbert then fell to the ground, having been the killer.

"And that's that!" She chimed as all the children smiled and sat up. Not Alfred though, oh no, this all just made no sense.

If Ivan wasn't the killer then why did he wink at him?


	4. Chapter 4

**Ooo. Suspense. *Cackles***

**Enjoy the chapter! Reviews are loved!~**

_**Da-Yes**_

_**Privet- Hello**_

* * *

"Cheater!" Alfred shouted. It all made sense now! Ivan must have known that the awesome American with his amazing skills would have won the game, so he decided to play dirty! It was the only logical reason why he would do something like that!

Well he wasn't going to get away with it! Alfred huffed and quickly stood up, having spent five minutes on the ground even after the stage cleared up after the game. Ivan was not going to be let off the hook. Alfred straightened out his back before glancing around the auditorium. Most of the class has already exited and the American feared the Russian probably left as well. Well, there was always tomorrow.

"Alfred?" A voice just barely whispered to his side. Alfred twirled around only to meet violet eyes staring at him. How long had his brother been standing there? The Canadian shifted awkwardly from one leg to another as the other stared at him.

"Oh, hey Mattie!" Alfred smiled sweetly, figuring it best to push the thoughts of Ivan being a big sore loser out of his mind for now.

"I have been calling you for the past two minutes," his brother responded with a frown. Matthew was really good at disappearing for a few moments, or so most people thought. Alfred didn't, he always noticed his baby brother! Okay so maybe the other was a few days older than him, that meant nothing! Back to the point, Alfred always made sure to notice Matthew. So the fact he didn't seem to acknowledge his presence now was just strange.

"Really dude? Oh man, I'm sorry! I had something on my mind. Come on, let's get out of here!" Alfred placed a reassuring hand on his brother's shoulder and grinned. Matthew stared at him skeptically for a moment before returning the smile.

"It's okay. I heard Papa was making hamburgers tonight, your favorite." The Canadian chuckled quietly, pulling away from Alfred's grip to hop off stage and grab his things.

"Oh man really? That's great! Let's hurry on home then!' Alfred fist pumped the air before following after his brother, the thoughts of Ivan ceasing to exist.

Dinner wasn't as great as the two brothers hoped. Francis insisted that he and Arthur had to go shopping for necessary ingredients for hamburgers. Alfred really had no idea what that meant because to him a burger was just a frozen patty in the freezer. Oh no, but not to Francis. Apparenly he had to have the right everything.

Not that Alfred would have complained considering his Papa was the world's greatest cook. However, it wasn't long after the Frenchman and the Englishman broke out into an argument. Basically it resulted in Arthur cooking that night. Now Alfred's dad was a great English teacher, but the poor man could not cook for his life!

As much as it pained Alfred and Matthew, and even Francis, all three decided to skip out on dinner that night. When Alfred dragged his feet away from the table and upstairs, he could have sworn he saw Arthur making a face at his own burnt hamburgers. He tried, he really did. That didn't make them taste any better though.

By the time he was in his room Alfred noticed it was only seven at night. What a lame time! He considered playing videogames, but realized he had defeated all of the games he had. No, scratch that, he had beaten them all five times. Man, he needed some cash for new ones. Instead he ended up creeping down the upstairs hallway from his room to his brother's.

It wasn't like this was something strange for the two brothers. Ever since they learned how to walk they found themselves going to each other's room. They were just inseperable. Once Alfred made it to the front of his brother's room he lightly knocked on the door.

"Hmn?" Came the response from beyond the barrier. "Who is it?"

"It's me," Alfred whispered although he wasn't sure why, "Alfred."

"Come in!"

Alfred heard a few sounds like paper shuffling before he twisted the doorknob and pushed the door open. "You looking at porn in here?"

Matthew sat up on his bed with his lower half covered up by his Canadian flag patterned blanket. Upon hearing his brother's comment he immediately turned pink. "Al! Don't say things like that!"

Alfred couldn't help it, he burst out laughing. "Aw Mattie, come on now! Don't deny you don't! Especially with your dad's blood coursing through you man. You know how loud our pa's are in bed!"

Matthew could not have been any redder at this point. "Must you bring it up?" Honestly, Alfred must have done this on purpose! Really, the Canadian could have gone a long time without the thought of his dad's in bed pounding each other like there was no tomorrow. Then again, it wasn't really the American's fault. Those two were extremely loud in bed, even with their door closed!

Matthew blinked when Alfred collapsed onto his bed. How odd, Alfred usually bugged him to play videogames around this time. "Is everything alright, Al?" Was his brother annoying? Yes. Did he love him regardless? Of course.

Alfred sighed heavily and rolled onto his back, placing his arms behind his head. He couldn't deny that the strange Russian was on his mind again. It was just so unfair that he pulled such a dirty stunt! "Hey, did you see the new kids today in school?" He was going to take things slowly.

"Oh yes, I was able to meet one of them. Her name is Katyusha, she's in a grade higher than us." Oh, of course Matthew would know her then. He was in more advanced classes than Alfred. What could he say? The American hated homework.

"Katyusha, huh?" Alfred rolled onto his side, plopping up onto one elbow. "She hot?"

Once again Matthew was turning red. "She's pretty, she has a big-" he paused, choosing his words carefully. "She has a big- you know."

"Rack?"

"Bingo."

"How big?"

"They'll suffocate you."

Alfred whistled. Those were some big puppies! "I only met Ivan, you know, the one in our Theater class? Let me tell you what he did-"

"Oh! Ivan is Katyusha's younger brother!"

"What?" Alfred blinked, how rude of his brother to disrupt him!

"Yeah, she mentioned her family while we were talking. She said she, Ivan, and her other sister Natalia all came here from, where was it...Oh! Russia."

"Yeah, Ivan had a pretty thick accent. Dude, but seriously now! You know how-" Wait a minute, how could he have forgotten? Matthew was in the class with him! Maybe he saw what had happened! "In theater class today, you remember how we played Wink Murder, right?"

"Considering it happened earlier today, yes."

Alfred rolled his eyes before continuing. "Well Ivan totally cheated man! He winked at me, but Gilbert was the murderer!" Suddenly there was a pause and Alfred wondered if he said something wrong. He blinked a few times before focusing on his brother.

Was he...smirking? Yes, he was. Why was the Canadian smirking at him?

"What's with the look man?" Alfred asked, completely startled. His brother hardly did anything that creepy.

"Seems to me someone might have a crush," Matthew chuckled quietly.

_What?!_

"Whoa! Dude! What? I don't like that-that-that Commie!" Really, that was the only insult he could come up with? Well the Cold War was the only lesson he paid attention to in History. Probably his best grades came from that unit. Besides, Ivan was Russian after all! It was perfection! Now back to the situation, "I am straight!"

Now it was Matthew's turn to roll his eyes. "That's not what I meant you moron. I mean, Ivan may have a crush on you. This is all just a wild guess though, I don't even know if he rolls that way."

"Well _I_ don't, okay?" Alfred stared at his brother for a confirming nod before looking away. Why was his heart beating so fast? It was probably because he was put on the spot. Alfred hated to be interrogated and feared that what was coming. Much to his fortune Matthew knew he was only into girls. Right? ..._Right?_

"Anyway Matt, I'm heading to bed. You sleep tight!" Alfred sat up and leaned over to kiss his brother's forehead.

Matthew smiled that sweet smile of his and reached over to squeeze the American's hand. "Sleep tight, don't let the Russians bite." He then began giggling and Alfred nearly tackled him onto the bed. How dare he mock him! With a short grunt Alfred was out the door in seconds and back in his own room. He needed a long rest.

* * *

Was he in this place again? He must have been because he felt very happy. He glanced about at the grassy field he was sitting in. The sun was gleaming down, but it didn't feel hot. When he reached over to touch the seemingly damp grass, although there wasn't a cloud in the sky that could have signaled rain, he noticed how tiny his hand was.

Alfred made a tiny fist before tilting his head upward once again. _He_ was there, that boy from last time. His mouth was moving. Was the boy speaking to him? It took him awhile to piece his words together.

"I am glad you're here, Fredka," He chimed. The silver haired boy turned his head and had a warm smile on. His scarf was blowing in the air, but Alfred felt no wind. Who was he? Alfred opened his mouth to speak, but words escaped him. He was mute.

"I really miss you. I wish you would wake up and remember this time." The boy was also a child, that the blond noticed. He seemed innocent and pure. Alfred couldn't help but envy that. All the times he wished he could be blissfully ignorant and innocent again. Life was too cruel for that though.

"Please wake up and remember me, Alfred." The boy used his real name this time. Remember who? Him? Who was he?

"Wake up."

_Who are you? _Alfred wanted to call out.

"Wake up."

_Wait!_

"Wake up you git!"

* * *

Alfred gasped softly as his eyes shot open. "Who? What? Where?"

"Me, your father. You're going to be late for school. You're in your house, still on your bloody bed!"

Oh right, school. That nasty thing that came every morning. Alfred yawned and sat up in his bed as he heard his curtains being shuffled around and opened. Ick. Light.

Alfred groaned loudly as the annoying sunlight shone into his room. His father soon left and he decided to lay back down. How would a couple more minutes of sleep harm anyone? He closed his eyes once again, but to his surprise he couldn't sleep. He had another dream, didn't he? Why couldn't he remember them?

He sighed, it seemed important. Oh well! His mind wandered on until he realized what he had to do today. He was going to confront Ivan about being a cheater! He wouldn't get away this time. Even better, he saw him second period for History! It was all too perfect!

He would confront him, get him to admit his wrong actions, and be a hero! Hero of what? That didn't matter! Ivan was the bad guy and bad guys always lose. Everyone knows that.

"Alfred, are you still in bed? Damn it boy, get your arse up right now! I still have burgers from last night if you want some for breakfast."

If he made it to school, that is.

By the time Arthur went to check up on the boy five minutes later he was nowhere in sight. He could run when he wanted to. How awful, he had brought him a burger too!

Meanwhile, Alfred was out of the house practically running to school. An angry Canadian followed after him, trying to convince him to slow down. Alfred was going on about killer burgers and it was just annoying Matthew to no end. He hadn't even finished showering before Alfred basically pulled him out to quickly wash himself. He finished in two minutes! How unsanitary!

"Dude, I have to get to class! I need to see Ivan!" Oh no, why did he say that? He could feel the smirk on Matthew's face behind him. "Not like that! I need to make him admit that he's a cheater is all man!"

"And when do you have class with him?"

"Second period."

"So we're running to first period class so you can tell him?"

"Right."

Matthew groaned lowly, his brother sometimes had the IQ of dirt. "Slow down, Al! I'm tired! We're really early, too!"

Alfred grunted but obliged, significantly slowing down in order for his brother to catch up. He was such a snail! He had to be the super awesome hero already and his sidekick was keeping him up! That's right, Matthew was his sidekick. The Canadian didn't know it, but he was. He was the Robin to his Batman!

Alfred snaked an arm around his brother's neck and grinned that special one of his. His grin could charm any lady, heck who knows, maybe even any man to his every command. He wouldn't use his good looks against anyone though. He couldn't do that, he was a he-

"Al! Earth to Alfred!" Matthew whined lowly. Why was Alfred suddenly ignoring him like the rest of the world lately?

"Hmmn..?" Alfred responded, clearly staring into space.

"I said, look, there's Ivan!"

That definitely caught the blond's attention as he turned his head and followed Matthew's gaze. Sure enough, there he was. Standing there in all his Russian glory. Great, now Alfred could confront the cheater! Wait, why weren't his feet moving?

"Hello there, Ivan!" Matthew called out instead, waving to the platinum blond. Ivan blinked and seemed to gaze around, right past the Canadian.

"Am I hearing things?" He said before locking eyes on Alfred. "Oh, Privet Alfred!"

Matthew couldn't help it, he began pouting. Was he a ghost?

"H-Hey there bro!" Damn it, why did he stutter? "Hey! Wait a minute! I have to have a word with you!"

"Can we get to school first? I do not want to be late, da?" Ivan responded smiling sweetly, _too_ sweetly. It was creeping Alfred out!

"Now you listen here! I don't know if you heard the rules of the game, but-"

"Alfred watch out!"

Alfred gasped as he noticed the two bright shining lights heading his way at a speed he didn't know was possible.

Then there was red.

Red everywhere.


	5. Chapter 5

**Goshy gosh, I update so late and I feel so guilty about it! I'm sorry! My motivation has just been low lately. As much as I love Hetalia, I feel like I need a break from it. Ah, don't worry though. That doesn't mean I'm going to take a bunch of months off from updating my fanfics! [Least, I hope it doesn't come to that!] Just please forgive my slow pace in throwing new chapters out. **

**Oh, and since it was brought up in the last batch of reviews..**

**Note: This story will most likely take many different turns. From what I've been planning, at least. Hee-hee! **

**Enjoy! Reviews are appreciated!**

**[Warning[?]:There are some religious mentions in this chapter.]**

* * *

It was nice and dark. Whatever place Alfred had traveled to, that is. He couldn't see anything, but that didn't concern him. Usually he was quite frightened by the dark because that's when ghosts came out, but he felt calm right now. It went on, and on, this pitch black place. Was he dreaming? No, that couldn't be right. He wouldn't be thinking right now then, right? If it was empty darkness he would just be, well, sleeping. He wouldn't be able to organize his thoughts. Well, perhaps in a lucid dream or something, but this felt different.

He tried moving. Useless. He didn't feel out of energy, so this was confusing. He didn't feel any need to move though. Wait, what had happened before he ended up here?

He was talking to Ivan, yes, that was certain. He was going to claim that the Russian was a cheater, when...? What happened? Two lights. Right, there were two lights heading towards him. What was it? A car. Yes, that must have been it. Then what? He ended up here.

It took a moment to sink in for the blond. Oh, was he _dead_? Was that it? Hold on a minute, now he didn't spend a whole lot of time studying religion, but he could have sworn he should have been in Heaven. His papa would tell him how great of a place it was, being a Catholic himself. His thoughts ceased for just a moment, a dreadful feeling suddenly kicking in. Was he in **hell?**

Impossible! He didn't do anything wrong! Well yes, he once stole a candy bar from the store, but come on! Hell wasn't a consequence for that, was it? Then this place would be filled! However he couldn't see anyone or anything here, so once again it wasn't possible. This all didn't add up. If he wasn't in Heaven, and he wasn't in Hell, then...?

Oh no, oh _God _no. What if this was what really happened when he died? He hated to think about this, but there was always that _what if? _As in, what if people really didn't go to Heaven or Hell when they died. What if they really did just rot in the ground and that was the end of the story? What if his soul was trapped in his body while he faced eternal darkness beneath the ground? Or perhaps, that in itself is what Hell is.

Now hold on a minute, was that mumbling? It sounded important.

"Alfred!"

_God?_

"Wake up!"

_I am up, God!_

"Alfred!"

_God, I am right here._

Okay, maybe he had reached the point of his mind that he was just going insane. He was at the 'hearing voices' stage, yes, that was it.

"You don't think he's in a coma, do you?" Another voice suddenly popped up.

Whoa, now that definitely weird. Coma? Oh no, was that what this was? That would be even worse than death! He'd be alive but otherwise trapped! This was the one thing he didn't want!

"Alfred, please!"

_I belong to a community of butterflies._

"Son, wake up!"

_Whose wings have been tied behind our backs._

"I'm begging you Al, I can't do this without you!"

_Let me __**go, **__let me __**fly.**_

"Al?"

_**Let me out of this hell!**_

Alfred sat up immediately as his eyes shot open. He gripped his chest and panted roughly.

"He's awake! Oh bloody hell, get these onions away from me!"

"Mon amour, there are no onions near you."

"Sh-shut up, you frog!"

"Move, let me see him!" Alfred looked up to see a familiar face push two other figures out of the way. His face was quickly caressed by the other's hands. "Alfred, are you okay? Do you know who I am?"

Alfred grumbled in response, "What are you talking about, Mattie?"

A sigh of relief escaped the Canadian as he wrapped his arms around his brother in a tight hug. Alfred blinked a few times, trying to register exactly what was going on. Wasn't he on his way to school before all this?

"Mattie, what-" He was cut off.

"A car was heading straight for you, Al! You would have gotten hit, if, if," The other blond began choking up. He hated thinking of this world without his brother. He'd be completely invisible then, he truly would be. "If Ivan didn't push you out of the way."

_What._

_What?_

_What!_

"What?" Alfred whispered in disbelief.

Matthew nodded a few times, reaching up to run his fingers through his brother's hair. "He saw the car and reacted as quickly as possible. To be honest, he helped me too. I sort of just stood there frozen in shock as the car came. He pushed me first before reaching for you." Actually to be completely honest, Matthew thought Ivan only pushed him in order to get to Alfred. At least his existence was acknowledged.

Alfred let that sink in, but his brain had a problem processing the information fully. All he had done to the new student was first, try to avoid him, and second called him a cheater (and a Commie). Yet the kid comes in and saves his damn life. Who wrote this twisted script for life, seriously!

"Do you want to see him?" Matthew whispered into his ear, finding the quiet space around his brother to be odd and uncomfortable.

Alfred glanced upward into violet eyes and nodded.

"That is good, I think Arthur needs a new tissue box! Let's go fix you up." Francis chuckled to himself. Alfred just now focused on the two men that were watching their sons. He gazed at the Englishman and sure enough his eyes were red and puffy from what seemed like crying.

"W-Wanker!" Arthur sniffled, stomping out of the room without another word.

"You are still his baby, Alfred. He loves you so much, whether he shows it or not. As well as I!" The French father winked at both his sons before prancing after his husband. Really, he reminded Alfred of a skunk for some reason. He wasn't sure why, probably something from his childhood.

Matthew nodded once hearing Alfred's response and walked after his two fathers. He made a motioning gesture to the American's room as he reached the door before walking out. A soft creaking noise filled the air as Alfred noticed the shadow from the open door. Someone was standing up. They must have been sitting down beyond the door.

Alfred tilted his head slightly when he caught the hesitation in the figure. He seemed nervous or scared to come in. Was that really Ivan? He waited a few more minutes until finally the Russian entered the room, scarf wrapped snugly around his neck. Both boys stared at each other for what, to Alfred, seemed like the rest of the day.

When Ivan decided to take a step forward, Alfred couldn't help but jump up after beginning to space out. "H-Hey dude."

Ivan nodded once, taking a seat at the edge of the bed. Alfred didn't even notice he was in his room. He had his American flag blanket covering his lower half. His room was cleaned up, thanks to his father of course. If it wasn't for Arthur's obsession with cleaning, his room would probably be a huge embarassment.

Another dead silence filled the room and it was beginning to annoy Alfred. He liked noise! He decided to speak up, "Why did you do a crazy thing like that?"

Ivan chuckled quietly, keeping his gaze away from Alfred. What a creep. "Why would I let you get hit?"

"We just met yesterday though!"

"Is that what this world has come to? That we have to go against our better judgement simply because we haven't known each other that long?" The Russian tilted his head to the side, finally turning it to look at Alfred.

Alfred inhaled slowly, "That's some deep shit man."

"It's life."

"It's sad."

"Welcome to reality, da?"

Alfred sighed softly, smiling at Ivan. Maybe he had him all wrong. Seriously, he saved his life! The least he could do was treat the guy like a friend, or better yet, actually become friends with him.

"Wait," It dawned on Alfred suddenly, "I remember seeing a lot of red."

"Ah, when I moved you out of the way an unfortunate fruit stand was hit. Perhaps something red flew your way. The guy was very shocked, you should have seen his face!" Ivan began full out laughing this time, which was even creepier to Alfred for some reason. It seemed so out of character. Of course that didn't prevent him from laughing along.

"Dude, I can imagine! He was probably like, 'Shit I ain't getting paid enough for this!'" Alfred added along, grinning wide.

"He was okay, upset about his fruit, but okay. The most damage he had was falling on to his knees when he realized his stand was destroyed. He is a crazy man, though. Most people would have gone running from a car, he just stood there angrily."

"Well man, I really want to thank you for saving my ass. I owe you one!" Alfred stretched his arms out, muscles popping.

"It is nothing, Alfred. I was doing what was right." Ivan stood up and fixed his scarf, which really didn't look like it needed to be fixed in the first place.

"Wait! I have one more question!" Alfred nearly yelled, slightly turning pink when he realized this. _Gosh, Ivan is right there, control yourself man!_ "Why did you cheat?"

Ivan looked puzzled as his eyebrows knit together, staring at the blond. "Pardon me?"

"When we played Wink Murder man! Why did you wink at me?"

Ivan pursed his lips and cocked his head to the side. "I thought you said the killer was supposed to wink."

"Yeah, he is!" Man, this kid is freaking weird sometimes. "You weren't the killer though. Gilbert was."

Ivan chuckled quietly, almost darkly it seemed like. "Gilbert is no killer, look at him. He is too silly. Goofy, but sane."

"The teacher chose him to be the killer though, dude, you're missing the point! I thought you understood the rules!"

"Someone does not choose whether you are a killer or not, Alfred, it just happens."

"What are you talking about? Are you some kind of killer?"

"..."

"Ivan?"

"..."

"Oh my God, Ivan!"

"You look very silly right now," Ivan began laughing, but to Alfred it seemed tense. Almost like he needed to laugh or else the blond would freak out, which he was about to do. Alfred let out a breath he didn't know he was holding. What was he thinking? Ivan as some kind of murderer? He was the one that saved him! He really felt stupid right now.

"Not cool man, I was about to jump out the window!" Alfred grit his teeth. How dare Ivan make a fool of him!

"How would I be some kind of killer, Alfred? Do I look insane to you?"

_Actually yes, yes you do. Quite frankly, I'm surprised you don't have police stalking you, that's how creepy you look._ Alfred sighed softly, not daring to say his thoughts. That would just be plain rude. Instead he rested his head back on his pillow and sprawled onto out his bed.

"No, you're right. Still, you were raising some really bad suspicions bro! Just shoo now, I'm beat. Hey, wait a minute, one last thing." He turned his head to the side.

"You have many "last things" to say, Alfred," Ivan mused.

The American rolled his eyes and crossed his arms over his chest. "Why did you stay? You could have dropped me off and then ran back to school, we were early, you could have been on time."

Ivan paused and leaned back on the wall. Alfred had decorated his walls with posters of superheroes. He hoped Ivan didn't notice and call him a dork. He wasn't a dork! ...Okay, maybe a little. "I was scared."

"Scared?" Alfred arched a brow.

"Da, I mean, you were knocked out. I wasn't really sure if you were hurt when I pushed you to the ground. I'm not the lightest of people so I got worried I shoved you too hard. Who knows if I gave you a concussion or put you into a coma. I panicked." He nearly mumbled the whole thing, but Alfred was able to hear.

"Panicked?"

"Yes. You're my only friend here so far. Everyone else is ...scared of me, for some reason." Although Ivan sounded pretty upset, Alfred couldn't help but notice the slightest smirk forming on his lips. Maybe his mind was playing tricks on him.

"Oh. Well dude, you've only been here a day!" Alfred forced a smile, he was growing pretty tired and this conversation was making him feel weird. It was like his stomach was churning, almost like he wanted to vomit but not quite.

"There you go again, you always did know how to make me feel better." Ivan chuckled and stood up straight, beginning to walk out of the door. Alfred watched him with narrowed eyes. What was he going on about now? He didn't stop him though, he wanted to rest now. So instead he just watched as Ivan gave a short wave and was out the door.

What a strange kid.


	6. Chapter 6

**This chapter is so late and I'm so sorry! I'm battling writers block and a few other things right now! I'm really sorry!**

**Lots of dialogue in this chapter.**

**Enjoy and remember, reviews are loved!**

* * *

Alfred really didn't need to rest for more than a day before going back to school. As much as Arthur tried to make him take another day off, Alfred knew better. If he stayed home for another day, he would be screwed. Missing one day in high school was bad enough. So many classes went through new lessons really fast and he didn't want to fall behind. As nice as staying home sounded, the horrible feeling of being clueless in class convinced him to get up the next day for school.

So after prying himself away from his father, he and Matthew were on their way.

"Are you sure you don't need another day home, Al?" Matthew whispered, looking over at his brother.

Alfred flashed him a grin, nodding. "Dude chill, all I got was a little bruise from being tackled by a Russian giant. It's not that big!"

"Well, how are you emotionally?"

"Emotionally? Why, are you saying I should feel different?" Alfred tilted his head to the side, shoving his hands into his pockets as they walked.

"Well, I'm still pretty shaken up about it and the car wasn't even that close to me like it was to you."

"Well, we lived and that's what matters! Why would I start asking myself 'What if I got hit?' when I didn't? That's stupid!" Alfred stretched his arms out and stuck his tongue out at his brother. Matthew seemed to pout at how lightly the American was taking this.

"Alfred, just, okay fine." Matthew decided he was better off giving up. Maybe his brother had a point.

Alfred chuckled and began bouncing up and down along the way to school. It wasn't that far from their house, but it was still a decent walk. Unfortunately for them they missed the bus again, due to Alfred trying to escape Arthur's grip earlier. Seriously that man had to learn to calm down.

When the two brothers entered the school they were immediately pounced on by the other students. A buzz of "Are you okay?" and "Wow you guys are lucky!" filled the surrounding area. The hallways were pretty much filled with students in a line to tell the brothers how they felt. Matthew stood quiet for the most part, not used to all this attention that he was receiving. It was weird and definitely out of the ordinary. Usually people just walked right by him like he was a ghost.

Alfred on the other hand sucked it all up. He grinned, stood tall, and absorbed all of it straight to his ego. This was the attention he deserved! Sure it was under some weird circumstances, but it was attention nonetheless. It wasn't long before the crowd of students were being pulled away by a group of monkeys.

Those group of monkeys being Alfred's friends of course.

"Get out of the way! Awesome best friend coming through!" Alfred immediately heard Gilbert yelling from beyond the hundreds of students stuffing the hallway.

"Alfred! Alfred, I made you pas- Oh no! I left it in my locker!"

"Idiota! You brought a bowl of freaking pasta to school?"

"Oh Lovi calm down for once! If you're good I'll give you my tomato at lunch today!"

"Bastardo."

"Wait, did Gilbert-san say that Alfred was _his_ best friend? I must disagree."

"Shut up, Kiku! This isn't the time! Alfred I'm coming baby!"

Finally Alfred noticed a puff of snow white hair pop out of the crowd, aggressively shoving people out of the way. A few students grunted, but everyone knew how Gilbert was already. So there wasn't that much of a fuss.

When Alfred's friends finally appeared, Gilbert gripped his shoulders tightly with a huge frown. Feliciano was in Ludwig's arms (it really was quite the sight), Antonio was pulling Lovino along by his hand, and Heracles had his head on Kiku's shoulder. Most likely asleep standing up.

"Alfred! I'm here now, you're going to be okay!" Gilbert pulled the American into a close and tight hug, one that made Alfred lose his breath for a moment.

"Gil," Alfred gasped softly while trying to inhale, "I'm okay dude!"

The German let go of Alfred and sighed heavily, seriously looking like he was about to cry. Alfred knew he wouldn't though. He was too 'awesome' for tears. Alfred stood up straight and patted his friend's shoulder, chuckling lowly.

"Alfred! Matthew! How are you two feeling?" Feliciano asked, gripping Ludwig's shirt. Ludwig didn't seem to mind, but Alfred couldn't ignore the small pink blush that appeared on his cheeks though.

"We're fine, Feliciano, thank you." Matthew smiled softly at the Italian boy, nervously fiddling with the hem of his shirt.

"Yeah well we're still walking so!" Alfred chimed and received a few cheers from the crowd. When the warning bell rang the group of students began to scatter about, trying to get to class. Feliciano gave both boys a quick hug before skipping off with Ludwig, who gave the brothers a nod of his own. Lovino didn't seem to notice or care about the two, but Alfred saw the glance he gave them and the slight concern in his eyes. Lovino wasn't heartless. Not even close. After Antonio pecked both boys cheeks and dragged Lovino away, Kiku gave Alfred a shoulder squeeze and a smile. He than pulled the sleeping Heracles away, seriously, he was basically sleep walking.

Lastly there was Gilbert, who brought Alfred into another tight hug. The American tried to reassure the other that he was fine, but Gilbert didn't seem to hear him as he only squeezed him closer. "You had me scared you dick," he whispered as Alfred began to pull away. The blond smiled warmly at him, holding a fist up as Gilbert bumped it with his own.

"I'm sorry dude, next time I promise to call you and tell you I'm fine." Alfred replied, receiving a nod from his friend. After the late bell rang Gilbert finally split, leaving the two brothers alone in the hallway.

"Wow that was something, wasn't it?"

"Yeah it was pretty intense. Now hurry up, this is the first time I've been late in the three and a half years we've been here, thanks to you." Matthew snorted, eliciting a laugh out from his near twin.

"Wow, sorry bro." Both of them ran to class where they too split up.

After a long and painfully boring day with trying to catch up to what he missed yesterday, the eighth period bell rang signaling that special time of the day. Theater class. Of course the American zoomed through the hallways, dodging the incoming stampede of students moving to their next class. Alfred jumped down the staircase and finally found himself in front of the auditorium. He inhaled before stepping through the large heavy doors.

"Honey, I'm home!" Alfred yelled, causing an echo to ring in his ears. A few people who were already there turned to him with large grins.

"Alfred! Oh, Alfred!" The blond arched a brow and spun around, catching a glimpse of his teacher before she basically threw herself on top of him. "Oh my precious butterfly! I heard about what happened! Are you okay dear?" Elizabeta cried out, squeezing the boy closely.

Now, Alfred had to take a moment to notice how his face was pretty much buried into her chest. What guy wouldn't? He smirked to himself before managing to pull himself away. "Naw teach, I'm all good dudette!" She hardly took a minute to listen to him before she was running over to Matthew.

Alfred let out a small chuckle and looked around the class, immediately spotting the platinum blond who saved his life. Ivan didn't seem to look back as he continued staring at the stage. Alfred couldn't help but notice he was alone. A tinge of guilt ran through his body as he remembered how he tried avoiding him the first day he arrived. Well that was going to change today.

"Well, I think in celebration for two of our fellow butterflies still standing here today, Alfred and Matthew should choose what we do today!" Feliciano sang, twirling around while pulling Ludwig further into the auditorium.

"That's a great idea, Feliciano!" Elizabeta nodded to him, turning her head to gaze to the two brothers. "What would you two like to do?"

_Perfect._

"Alphabetical Improv!" Alfred pretty much yelled out, gathering the attention of the whole class.

"Wow we haven't played that since the beginning of the year, but sure!" Elizabeta let out a low giggle and skipped away to take a seat. "Who wants to go first?"

Alfred immediately ran over to the sitting Russian and forced his hand up, gaining a confused look from Ivan. He glanced up at Alfred with an arched brow, most likely having no idea how to even play. However before he could speak up, Elizabeta's voice filled the space. "Okay, Alfred, Matthew, Gilbert, Feliciano, Antonio, and Ivan are up first!"

Alfred jumped up in excitement, pulling the light haired boy onto his feet. "Alright, let me explain really quick how the game works! Basically Improv is like coming up with an act on the spot. Alphabetical improve only means that the beginning of the next sentence has to begin with the letter following the previous one! So if we start with the letter H, it would go something like this. Hey Ivan, how are you today?"

Ivan blinked a few times before responding, "I had a great day."

"Exactly! Make sure you don't take long to respond and just keep going on, alright? " Alfred didn't really see if Ivan understood perfectly as he was already dragging the other onto the stage. Feliciano hopped up to give Ludwig a quick hug before climbing on with the rest of the students involved.

"Alright, suggest a location everyone!" Elizabeta called out to the remaining students sitting down behind her.

"Store!"

"Park!"

"War battlefield!"

"Oh, that sounds interesting! Battlefield it is! Now pick a letter!" Elizabeta didn't even seem to notice Roderich next to her, sneering for some reason.

"B!"

"B it is, we'll start with Feliciano then go to Gilbert, Antonio, Ivan, Matthew, and then Alfred!" Elizabeta clapped her hands a few times. "Begin!"

Feliciano gasped softly before waving his arms around. "Bombs are attacking us!"

Gilbert patted the Italian's back, "Chill! We have all the weapons we need!"

Antonio seemed to freeze for a second before bursting out, "Drat! They defeated the guards who were protecting our weapons!"

Ivan quickly responded, "Enough, we can get through this."

Matthew whispered so lowly the others had to step closer to hear. "Fighting doesn't have to be the answer anyway."

Alfred jumped forward, grinning wide. "Good point, we should try and talk to them!"

"How do you know they will listen?"

"Uh-!"

"Oh, You're out Gilbert!"

"Oh come on! The awesome me can't be out first!" Gilbert stomped a foot before sighing and dragging himself off stage."

"Antonio, you're next, I!"

"It's a long shot but it might work and save a lot of people!"

"Just saying, but they might not be trust worthy anyway."

"Killing won't solve anything."

"Lingering around and talking about it isn't helping, they're bombing us right now!"

"Oh no we should run!"

"Nope! Sorry Feliciano but that's not the next letter!"

"Oh poo!" Feliciano frowned, hopping off stage in order to sit on Ludwig's lap and whine.

"Go ahead Antonio!"

"Might as well just stay here and die if we aren't going to do something!"

"No we must escape and figure out a proper plan."

Matthew opened his mouth to respond but his voice seemed to fail him as nothing came out. After about five seconds Elizabeta shook her head with a chuckle. "Sorry Matthew, but you're out!"

Matthew frowned before nodding at his brother and quickly getting off the stage.

"Go ahead Alfred!"

"Over there is a safe place to hide!"

The three remaining kids began shuffling over to a new spot on stage, wiping pretend sweat from their foreheads.

"Perhaps we should sleep it out for the night?"

"Quickly, we must cover up the new base."

"Right, it shouldn't take long before it's safe!"

"Silence is key."

"That is not always true."

"Under there!"

"V-V-Darn it!"

"Oh too bad Antonio! You did well!"

Antonio snapped his fingers and chuckled lowly, hopping off as well.

Only Ivan and Alfred remained.

"Go Ivan!"

"Vigorous attacks are heading our way!"

"We're at war people, everyone prepare for combat!"

"X-rays are not something we have here, so don't break anything!"

"You have anything to say before we do this?"

"Zoning out isn't really an option right now."

"Alright, fine I understand."

"But there is one thing I should tell you."

"Cut it out, you just said there wasn't!"

"Damn it, listen to me!"

"Ears are open!"

"For all we know we won't get out of here alive."

"Good observation, captain obvious!"

"However, whether we do or don't I should tell you this."

"I understand now just spit it out!"

"Just give me a moment, I can't think with all these gun shots!"

"Killing should be a bigger worry right now!"

"Love is something that can't wait."

"Most people don't love out on the battlefield!"

"Not many people are me and you."

"Oh..Oh..Oh, dang!" Alfred snapped his fingers and looked away.

"And Ivan is our winner!"

Ivan smiled sweetly as the audience clapped their hands. Alfred was about to smile before the actual game processed into his head. Wait, what did Ivan say?


End file.
